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I don't blame you on the free shipping bit I'm sure they'll return it. I would mix a small sand/Eco batch first before to see if you like the look. IMO for depth I would have done the first layer with sand at a grade from high to low in the front and then cap that with the Eco while leaving a small gap between the sand and glass in front you can fill with Eco complete. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

Disadvantage to me was moving the tank or pulling out plants and replanting them. When I move a tank, I like to remove the substrate, give it a good rinsing out and replace it. You can't do that with soil. You do not need soil to plant a tank heavily, either. A good plant substrate will do the trick.